Ashley Williams

[Seathestars]

the beauty is mate you don't even have to worry because all this will be taken care of by somebody else.

True, and the thing is, it now appears that we are back to being shrewd.

 

[bluestevon]

I think to pay even £1m for the services of one young man is beyond obscene - the current fees in football are quite simply unbelievable and mind boggling.

That's another debate though.

And I'd agree, £13m - £20m is too much, I wouldn't pay that for AW - not that I said that in the first place anyway.

Thing is mate nobody said it

 

[John Osters Love Child]

Does William's want to move? If so and it's realistically his last contract then i can't see Swansea standing in his way. As long as they feel they get the money they want this should be wrapped up quickly. Like Southampton with Koeman i think this is more a PR exercise from Swansea to appease the fans and look like they parted ways on their terms.

 

[caught]

Nobody said up to £20m because that would be insane.

Personally i'd go absolute maximum £12m, and even then i'm a little uncomfortable with that. But if we really want him then fair enough.

I assume this is still on?

We'll just up the bid a bit.

It's a tough one.

Do we look elsewhere, do we up the bid, or do we tell them to take it or leave it.
Take it or leave it I think.

Yeah just to be clear, while I would up our bid for him, I don't want us to be taken to the cleaners - I wouldn't go above, say, £12m for him, otherwise it's getting silly.

The domestic market is just plain weird at the moment: most club's finances are healthy enough to take them out of the selling-for-necessity situation. Obviously there will be an upper limit on what we'd spend on Williams, but if he's been identified as the best option I wouldn't be too concerned about the fee being £10m or £13m or £13.37m plus £53m in add-ons when we win the league.

He will have little resale value regardless and that evidently isn't a massive concern for us. He's someone who can slot in immediately and offer short-term benefit, which seems to be our priority. It would be nice to see an Everton player head away a cross.

 

[Groucho]

Thing is mate nobody said it

Being honest though, in the current scheme of things, is there really that much difference between 10 and 12 million for a club now?

Face saving by Swansea this.

 

[Bally8]

Centre-backs who we know can do a good job in this league are pretty hard to find, you only have to look at the cash City, Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and the RS have splurged trying to find them. For where we are at the moment, and the fact that rebuilding Martinez's 'defence' is a task that makes the Basilica restoration look like a handyman's job, we need someone like Williams in the short term to make us a more attractive proposition in the future.

Agree with this. He will be a inspired signing and sort our defence out

 

[The Rhino]

If we can't afford to pay the extra 2-3 million for a starting 11 target then either we have nowhere near the amount of funds we have been told by the media, or Kenwright is doing the negotiations and being cheap with the deals.

 

[Groucho]

The domestic market is just plain weird at the moment: most club's finances are healthy enough to take them out of the selling-for-necessity situation. Obviously there will be an upper limit on what we'd spend on Williams, but if he's been identified as the best option I wouldn't be too concerned about the fee being £10m or £13m or £13.37m plus £53m in add-ons when we win the league.

He will have little resale value regardless and that evidently isn't a massive concern for us. He's someone who can slot in immediately and offer short-term benefit, which seems to be our priority. It would be nice to see an Everton player head away a cross.

I always prefer Everton to look at the value the player can offer on the pitch, as opposed to resale value - when did we all turn into accounting fans? lol

 

[bluestevon]

Being honest though, in the current scheme of things, is there really that much difference between 10 and 12 million for a club now?

Face saving by Swansea this.

Terms of payment is my guess on whats happening, bigger up front payment, maybe somethign tacked on for appearances, qualifying for europe etc, but when announced the fee will sound better for the Swansea owners

 

[Blue Cheese]

Rejected, gutted here. Can't sign a 32 year old, just gutted.

 

[Norwegian Cow]

It's not my money, the club can do what they want.

isn't it Evertons money, and isnt the fans a part of Everton? Doesn't the fans put alot of money into Everton by going to the games, buying merchandise etc. ?

 

[Blue Cheese]

You know it's bad when you find yourself agreeing with Damo ffs

 

[BlueToff]

If we can't afford to pay the extra 2-3 million for a starting 11 target then either we have nowhere near the amount of funds we have been told by the media, or Kenwright is doing the negotiations and being cheap with the deals.

nothing to do with not being able to afford it.

we had a deal agreed in principle on Monday - common consensus is that is was around the £8m to £10m range (possibly £8m + add ons).

We then spoke with the player and agreed terms etc.

Swansea changed their tune re the deal and now want more money (or it could be want more up front).

Nothing weird or malicious about it. Just business. If we want him we'll get him. The only thing a bit snidey is how Swansea have forced our hand in public, but at the same time that could also be to cover their own arses.

 

[BlueToff]

isn't it Evertons money, and isnt the fans a part of Everton? Doesn't the fans put alot of money into Everton by going to the games, buying merchandise etc. ?

yes in the aim of seeing success on the pitch.

Williams will improve our side. simple

 

[Groucho]

Rejected, gutted here. Can't sign a 32 year old, just gutted.

I don't think this is quite fair - Williams may be all over us, Swansea are the sticking point here, and who wants to pay over the odds? Not me.